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Goodnight Hockey (Sports Illustrated Kids) Written by Michael Dahl Illustrated by Christina E. Forshay Capstone Young Readers     8/01/2015 978-1-62370-298-4 32 pages     age 4—8 “From the first puck drop to the final buzzer, Goodnight Hockey will have every hockey fan cheering. Rhyming text and energetic art perfectly capture the excitement and thrill of …

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[Manga Maniac Cafe] Good morning, Sophia! Describe yourself in five words or less.

[Sophia Henry] Driven. Compassionate. Funny.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] What’s one thing you won’t leave home without?

[Sophia Henry] Lip product of some kind. I’m addicted. I feel like a zombie without it. A dry-lip zombie.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] Name three things on your desk right now.

[Sophia Henry] Computer, a stack of books for a future giveaway, and a silly little bobblehead of a cat wearing gold chains that my grandpa bought me.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] What’s your favorite snack when you’re working on a deadline?

[Sophia Henry] Sour Patch Kids. I eat all the Sour Patch Kids when I’m writing!!

[Manga Maniac Cafe] If you could trade places with anyone for just one day, who would you be?

[Sophia Henry] (Detroit Red Wings Forward) Tomas Tatar’s girlfriend? Sorry to my husband…

[Manga Maniac Cafe] You have been granted the use of one superpower for one week. Which power would you choose, and what would you do with it?

[Sophia Henry] This is such a hard question for me, because “with great power comes great responsibility,” ya know? I’ll say invisibility, because then I don’t need to be Tomas Tatar’s girlfriend, I’ll just be invisible in the Red Wings locker room for a week. I think more naughty than I write.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] What are some books that you enjoyed recently?

[Sophia Henry] I’ve read so much awesome recently. Missing Pieces by Meredith Tate, Game of Love by Ara Grigorian, Across the Distance by Marie Meyer, The Rearranged Life by Annika Sharma, Run Away by Laura Salters, The List by Kate L. Mary, Letting Go by Jessica Ruddick. So many. I love to read (Obviously – ha). And love to support my fellow authors.

**Thank you so much for having me on your blog!

Excerpt:

I’m pretty sure there were only two ways Crazy Hair could have looked better than he had at O’Callaghan’s. The first was as he did right now: sitting on a bench in the locker room wearing nothing but the lower half of his uniform, including his skates, sweat rolling over his sinewy pecs and creating a happy trail all the way into his hockey pants.

The second way—I can only assume—would be if he were completely naked.

“Aleksandr, this is Auden Berezin. She will be your translator.”

“I don’t need a translator.”

I almost laughed, because he’d said he didn’t need a translator in Russian.

“You must talk with the media at some point, Sasha. They’re riding my ass to get better answers from you than ‘was good game.’ ”

Aleksandr Varenkov, hot Russian hockey god, laughed, showing the perfect set of white teeth I’d noticed at the bar.

“You have your teeth in, but you haven’t even showered yet?” Orlenko asked.

Was Orlenko a mind reader? I sure hope not, because I would be fired for thinking about my client naked.

“I wanted to look good for pictures.” Aleksandr winked at me. Then he stood, and drops of sweat raced down the hard planes of his chest.

I’d never been so envious of perspiration in my life.

“Sometimes I talk in the shower. Will she translate for me in there?”

My cheeks began to burn, so I averted my eyes, lowering them to the black Cyrillic script tattooed down his sides, then thought better of that line of sight and studied the soiled beige carpet below my feet.

“Aleks—” Orlenko sighed, rubbing his forehead.

“Zhenya,” Aleksandr began. “You know I’m kidding, yes?” He shoved a towel onto the shelf above his nameplate and walked away without waiting for an answer.

“Yes,” Orlenko hissed. He’d said it under his breath, but I heard him and wondered what my grandpa had gotten me into. “Well, that was Aleksandr Varenkov, your client. He’s a talented player and a good man. But he can be a little—”

“Douchey?” I offered in English. I shouldn’t have said it, considering Grandpa’s professional reputation was in my hands. Then again, Evgeny Orlenko was Grandpa’s friend first, so maybe he wouldn’t be too hard on me. Besides, Grandpa knew what kind of mouth I had, and he’d sent me for the job anyway.

Orlenko laughed, and continued in Russian. “Wild was the word I was looking for, but your adjective may not be that far off.”

“I’ve got it, Mr. Orlenko.”

“Are you sure?” He inspected me through thick black-rimmed glasses that were too small for his puffy face.

“As a college student with an active social life, I’ve learned how to handle arrogant douche bags.” This time I was being paid to handle one.

“I shouldn’t be having this conversation about one of my clients,” Mr. Orlenko said, his lips quirking up, then back into a tight line. At least he was trying to keep a straight face. “You’re like a breath of fresh air, Audushka. I hope you stay that way even with his off-ice antics.”

Off-ice antics? What the hell did that mean and why would I have to deal with them? “Will I have to hang out with him outside of the arena? I thought I was here to translate for media interviews after games and some practices.”

“Aleksandr speaks very little English. He’ll need your assistance in all aspects of his career; interviews, community service. At least, until he gets acclimated. Vitya said you were here for the month, is that correct?”

“Yep. All of winter break.”

“You’ll be putting in a lot of hours.”

“I’m a hard worker. And I need the cash. Got cut from the soccer team, and I have to replace the scholarship money I lost.” I was running my mouth again. Maybe I did need to tone it down.

“Well, I’m sorry to hear that. The being-cut part.” He cleared his throat. “Here’s my card. I wrote my cell number on the back. If you have any trouble or if Aleksandr makes you uncomfortable in any way, please give me a call.”

“Thanks.” I scanned the card wondering if I should try to memorize his number now, since I wasn’t sure how stable this client sounded.

After Orlenko left the locker room, I realized I hadn’t asked him what I should do next, and he hadn’t given me instructions as to where I should wait while Aleksandr showered. Since I wasn’t part of the media, I was extremely aware of being the intruder standing in a room of half-naked men. A shower shouldn’t take very long, so I dug my e-reader out of my messenger bag and sat down on the stool that Aleksandr had just vacated.

“Ewww.” I jumped up and skimmed my palm against my damp backside. Hadn’t even thought about any runaway sweat that might’ve dripped from Aleksandr’s lean, hard body onto the stool.

Stop. Just stop thinking about the shiny, wet flesh covering his impeccably carved frame.

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I have a Top 5 list and a cover reveal this morning for Victoria Denault’s NA hockey romance, One More Shot.  This is the first book in Victoria’s Hometown Players series.

Top 5 Fun Facts about Victoria Denault

1. I’ve run the bulls in Pamplona, Spain – twice.

2. The title One More Shot was inspired by a song by a band named Kane.

3. The characters are from the fictitious town of Silver Bay, Maine. It’s roughly based on Old Orchard Beach, Maine, but I swapped the ocean for a lake.

4. The relationship between the Caplan sisters (Jessie, Rose, Callie) is inspired by the relationship I had with my best friends growing up.

5. I LOVE hockey and was lucky enough to be at a Stanley Cup winning game. Total bucket list item.

ONE MORE SHOT by Victoria Denault (June 2, 2015; Forever Yours E-Book; $3.99; Hometown Players Book #1)

They say you only get one shot at making your dreams come true. Jordan is determined to take two.
Drafted by the NHL at eighteen, Jordan Garrison was headed for fame, and there was only one person he wanted to share it with-Jessie Caplan. He was crazy in love with her, and had finally told her so. They shared an amazing night . . . and then everything fell apart.
Jessie tries not to think about the night she gave herself to Jordan-or how he broke her heart. She tries not to think about it, but she does. Especially now, when she’s staring into his sky-blue eyes for the first time in six years. After so much time and torment, she can’t tell if she loves him or hates him. But Jordan has learned enough to know a connection like theirs is rare. He was lucky to find Jessie once. No way will he lose her again.

Pre-Order Links:

Amazon

B&N

iBooks

BAM

GooglePlay

Kobo

About the author:

Victoria Denault loves long walks on the beach, cinnamon dolce lattes and writing angst-filled romance. She lives in LA but grew up in Montreal, which is why she is fluent in English, French and hockey.

Social Media Links:

Website

Facebook

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I love doing big, busy spreads with a lot of activity going on. This one was for Cricket magazine. See if you can find the sports-related “wrongs” in this illustration.

(c) Cricket Magazine/Carus

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A Sandy Grave ~ January 2014 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ 2014 Purple Dragonfly 1st Place Picture Books 6+, Story Monster Approved, Beach Book Festival Honorable Mention 2014, Reader's Favorite Five Star Review

Powder Monkey ~ May 2013 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ Story Monster Approved and Reader's Favorite Five Star Review

Hockey Agony ~ January 2013 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ Story Monster Approved and Reader's Farvorite Five Star Review

The Golden Pathway ~ August 2010 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc.
~ Literary Classics Silver Award and Seal of Approval, Readers Favorite 2012 International Book Awards Honorable Mention and Dan Poynter's Global e-Book Awards Finalist

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The biggest story heading into the 2014-15 National Hockey League (NHL) season appears to not be what is happening with players on the ice. Rather, it is the people working off the ice who evaluate players’ performance on the ice that have a leading role in the NHL’s narrative. The analytics movement has come full force to professional hockey. Teams all across the NHL have hired people with expertise in analytics that can develop proprietary statistical analysis to give their teams a competitive edge. The Toronto Maple Leafs alone hired three analysts this past offseason.

The NHL is the latest league to make a significant investment in analytics. Major League Baseball (MLB) is well-known for its use of sabermetrics, as most famously deployed by general manager Billy Beane and the Oakland Athletics. The National Basketball Association (NBA) has spent the last decade hiring people for senior level positions with strong analytics backgrounds, as exemplified by the Houston Rockets selecting Daryl Morey for their General Manager role.

The rise of analytics to evaluate player performance raises a natural question. If teams and leagues increasingly believe analytics can provide a competitive advantage during competitions, then why not make more use of use analytics to help their businesses as well? In fact, sports teams and leagues should take advantage of the opportunities to hire quantitatively-savvy managers and analysts focused primarily on growing an organization’s revenue.

What value does this provide to an organization? In a recent article in Forbes, I showed how combining analysis of a quarterback’s on-field and off-field performance can provide a more holistic view of his value to an organization. However, focusing on individual athletes’ economic impacts is only the start of how quantitative analysis can impact sports organizations’ businesses. The most common example is with pricing tickets. Dynamic pricing has changed the way that teams, fans, media, and sponsors think about how they purchase tickets. Secondary market ticket sites, such as StubHub, and new dynamic ticket pricing models, such as Purple Pricing, have provided sports organizations with the opportunity to make more money while giving fans better options for buying tickets to games.

Ticket pricing is not the only revenue stream where analytics can be applied. For example, sponsorship revenue can use a more analytical approach to demonstrate how sports organizations often generate a significant return on investment for their partners. Sports organizations have traditionally used qualitative approaches to demonstrate a return on investment for their corporate partners in sponsorship deals. This includes developing recaps that have pictures of sponsorship activation elements during the course of the season such as a picture of a brand’s logo on signage at a sports venue.

However, corporate partners should be presented with a dollar amount for the return on investment that they are receiving by sponsoring an organization. Teams can use analytical models to show how the impressions they generate with lucrative sports audiences creates new customers, helps retain current customers, increases brand awareness, or enhances brand perception. Employing analytics in sports sponsorship provides sponsors with clear reasons why they are getting value by working with a sports organization.

Employing business analytics also helps to specifically address issues when a team or athlete is not successful in competition. Relying on winning is a losing strategy. Teams that rely on winning do not always achieve financial success. In addition, winning is still difficult to predict or control – even as teams hire more people to analyze their competitive performance. Deploying business analytics helps to address these issues. It can show what strategies, marketing campaigns, and promotions work best to generate revenue regardless of a team’s performance. With the influx of new technology into the sports industry impacting ticket purchases, in-game concession sales, digital and mobile streaming, social media engagement, and many others, there is a wealth of new data available to sports organizations. The next Moneyball will be the teams that can find insights from this data to generate money for their organizations.

Headline image credit: Ice hockey stadium. CC0 via Pixaby.

The post Analyzing the advancement of sports analytics appeared first on OUPblog.

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Hi everyone!

I am so sorry to have missed not only two days of reviews, but also replying to your wonderful comments. My new–less than a year old–laptop died, or at least it looks that way. While doing a restart, it twirled its little blue circle for close to fifteen minutes (it is solid state and should start and restart faster than you can clap your hands and say, “Abracadabra), and then it went black. It was still on, is still on, but the screen remains black and the machine silent. So off to the manufacturer, or wherever Best Buy sends computers they cannot fix in-house, for a nice one to two month vacation. Hopefully it will return refreshed and ready to get back to work. If not, well, I’ll worry about that if it happens.

So, if you visit Kid Lit Reviews and find the review is the same as the day before, I took a day off. If a review hangs around the Homepage for two or more days, a computer crisis has occurred and I will be back as soon as possible. The laptop I am using now is the one that breaks down more now than then, and the current ill machine was to have replaced. I am beginning to think CPU’s do not like me. Enough of that. Let’s move on to today’s review. The little girl, named Gabe, does not like the number on her jersey. What will the determined nine-year-old do about her situation?

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The Highest Number in the World

written by Roy MacGregor

illustrated by Geneviève Després

Tundra Books of Northern New York      2/11/2014

978-1-77049-575-3

Age 4 to 8           32 pages

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“Nine-year-old Gabe (DON’T call her Gabriella), Murray eats, sleeps and breathes hockey. Her lucky number is 22, the same number as her hero, Hayley Wickenheiser. But when hew new coach hands out the team jerseys, Gabe is stuck with number 9. She’s crushed. How can she play without her lucky number? Gabe’s grandmother, Gabriella (DON’T call her Gabe), soon sets her straight. The number 9 has a long and interesting history and little Gabe has to lots to learn about the players who wore it—including Gabriella herself. Gabe begins to see that the number 9 isn’t so bad after all . . . “

Opening

“Today, Gabe had made The Spirit, the best hockey team in town.”

About

Nine-year-old Gabe is the only nine-year-old on The Spirit team. Some would say this is quite an accomplishment, but not if they knew Gabe. Gabe loves hockey. She even has a tricky puck move called “The Gabe.” Her lucky number, the number she always wears, is number 22, the same number as Hayley Wickenheiser, a Canadian women’s hockey legend and Olympic hero. This is also the source of Gabe’s problem. She is assigned jersey number 9, not 22. She can’t play as number 9. She won’t play as number 9. So Gabe hides the number 9 jersey, never to be seen again. The Spirit’s first game is tomorrow. Gabe announced she is not playing.

Review

Gabe knows hockey better than most. She loves hockey and is ecstatic about making The Spirit team. She should be ecstatic. Gabe is nine while everyone else is ten. This is really a big deal. Gabe assumed she would get jersey number 22 because she has always played in jersey number 22. Gabe even has a practice jersey with that number, which she wore during the team try-outs. The other players jokingly call her “Hayley.” So how could the coach not understand that Gabe wanted, no, needed number 22? Getting jersey number 9 is a deal-breaker. Gabe cannot play in “the worst number in the world.”

I understand Gabe. My number was always 14. I do not think I could have played, at least not well, in any other number. Deciding not to play is rather harsh, especially for someone who lives and breathes hockey. I feel for Gabe. What I really like about this story is Grandma’s role. She shows Gabe a picture from her own hockey days. Back then, she said, number 9 was the lucky number. The best player on every team from peewee to the NHL wore number 9, including Grandma Gabriella. Her own story is the best part of The Highest Number in the World.

Kids who love hockey, especially girls, will love The Highest Number in the World. Those that love sports in general, will like this story. I am sure there are many players out there, be it hockey, baseball, basketball, or any other sport, that can relate to Gabe’s dilemma. As a bonus, the jacket flips into a poster of young Gabe in full gear. The illustrations are terrific from vignettes to spreads. I love spread number 3. Gabe is signing her name and the number 22 on the foggy winter window, practicing her autograph. But the final page holds the best illustration. In gouache is Gabriella, young and old, hand-in-hand, in uniform and on skates, each wearing jersey number 9—the lucky jersey. There is nothing else there, yet one can picture a number 9 jersey raising up to the rafters, immortalizing one name for two great players—“Gabriella.”

THE HIGHEST NUMBER IN THE WORLD. Text copyright © 2014 by Roy MacGregor. Illustrations copyright © 2014 by Geneviève Després. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Tundra Books of Northern New York, Plattsburgh, NY.

Purchase The Highest Number in the World at Amazon—B&N—Book Depository—Random House of Canada—Indigo—Tundra Books—your favorite bookstore.

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Learn more about The Highest Number in the World HERE.

Meet the author, Roy MacGregor, at his website:    http://www.roymacgregor.com/

Meet the illustrator, Geneviève Després, at her website:   http://www.genevievedespres.ca/

Find other great books at the Tundra Books website:   http://www.tundrabooks.com/

Distributed by Random House of Canada:   http://www.randomhouse.ca/

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Also by Roy MacGregor

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also by Geneviève Després

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Filed under: 5stars, Children's Books, Favorites, Library Donated Books, Picture Book Tagged: Bobby Hull, Canada, children's book reviews, Geneviève Després, Gordie Howe, hockey, picture books, Roy MacGregor, The Highest Number in the World, Tundra Books of Northern New York

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Cover Shot! is a regular feature here at the Café. I love discovering new covers, and when I find them, I like to share. More than anything else, I am consumed with the mystery that each new discovery represents. There is an allure to a beautiful cover. Will the story contained under the pages live up to promise of the gorgeous cover art?

This is another YUM! cover!  And since we didn’t get much hockey this season, I may as well read about it.  Taking the Shots by Toni Aleo will be available in May.

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The Forks, where the two rivers meet, was front and centre in the book where our junior Jets did a lot of their skating...



We also cruised various areas of the city, looking for a neighbourhood that our characters could call home.  My wonderful cousin Stefanie, a long-time Winnipegger (or is it "Winnipegonian"?), drove us around the south end of Winnipeg, outlining the characteristics of each neighbourhood -- Linden Woods, Waverley Heights, North Fort Garry, Assinboine Park (not necessarily in this order). We even came across one house with a skating rink right in the front yard, festooned with Jets' posters and banners, benches, official-looking ice markings, night lights. No sign of a zamboni... maybe it was in the garage.

The neighbourhood I eventually settled on as the backdrop is a mash-up of many of the areas Stefanie drove us through... I knew I wanted somewhere fairly central to downtown Winnipeg, with homes from the 1950s - '60s and lots of trees.

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A modern, fresh take on the old-school fairy tale, this story turns the princess theme on its head, leaving you smiling and hopeful that there are good guys left in the world for your own princess. Click here to read my full review.

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Some small paintings I created for a Memory-style card game that appeared in this past January's issue of Spider magazine. Each one is available for purchase in my Etsy shop:

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This is a piece I did for the January issue of Stories for Children Magazine. Mina’s Test is an early reader about a little girl who just wants to play with the big guys! You can read this story and so much more at the Stories for Children website.

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Part of the fun of writing a children’s book is the unlimited palate of fanciful characters and situations available.  I have said it before, but I would purposefully compose scenes that I thought would be murder to illustrate.  Ruler Of Space really let me “go crazy”, so we found our main character zooming through space on Nintendo-esque X-rays and having their hair cut by cats wearing rocket packs.

 

Compared to those, playing hockey on Neptune was pretty tame!  Perhaps I forgot to mention the oposing team… take a look.

 

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It is my absolute favorite time of the year on the OUPBlog. Word of the Year time (or WOTY as we call it in the office). Every year the New Oxford American Dictionary prepares for the holidays by making its biggest announcement of the year. The 2008 Word of the Year is (drum-roll please) hypermiling.

Do you keep the tires on your car properly inflated to maximize your gas mileage? Have you removed the roof rack from your vehicle to streamline the car and reduce drag? Do you turn your engine off rather than idle at long stoplights? If you said yes to any of these questions you just might be a “hypermiler.”

Some history:
“Hypermiling” was coined in 2004 by Wayne Gerdes, who runs this web site. “Hypermiling” or “to hypermile” is to attempt to maximize gas mileage by making fuel-conserving adjustments to one’s car and one’s driving techniques. Rather than aiming for good mileage or even great mileage, hypermilers seek to push their gas tanks to the limit and achieve hypermileage, exceeding EPA ratings for miles per gallon.

Many of the methods followed by hypermilers are basic common sense—drive the speed limit, avoid hills and stop-and-go traffic, maintain proper tire pressure, don’t let your car idle, get rid of excess cargo—but others practiced by some devotees may seem slightly eccentric:
• driving without shoes (to increase the foot’s sensitivity on the pedals)
• parking so that you don’t have to back up to exit the space
• “ridge-riding” or driving with your tires lined up with the white line at the edge of the road to avoid driving through water-filled ruts in the road when it’s raining

The hypermiling movement has been criticized for its alleged promotion of driving tactics that are considered dangerous or illegal, such as overinflating tires, rolling through stop signs, and following closely behind large vehicles to cut down on wind resistance. The American Automobile Association (AAA) has issued statements condemning hypermiling as unsafe, while hypermilers have countered that AAA’s characterization of hypermiling is a misrepresentation (see links below for more info).

Hypermiling has also gotten some positive attention in 2008, gaining mainstream traction as gas prices soared and the need to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, especially those from foreign sources, has become more apparent. A new initiative launched by the Association of Automobile Manufacturers and supported by such notables as California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger advocates the practice, referring to it as EcoDriving.

President-elect Barack Obama observed during his campaign that Americans could save as much oil as would be produced by proposed off-shore drilling if only they kept their tire pressures at recommended levels and took their cars in for regular tune-ups. Republicans’ subsequent criticisms of Obama’s statement put these measures advocated by hypermilers in the center of the debate between conservation and drilling as solutions to Americans’ foreign oil dependence problem.

A growing number of Americans favor hypermiling as a sensible set of practices for all drivers who are concerned about their wallets, the environment, and fuel independence, not just for those on the fringe who are obsessed with increasing their MPG numbers.

Related Links…

AAA on hypermiling

Wayne Gerdes response to AAA

Links relating to “EcoDriving”:
NBC Chicago
Eco Driving USA

Word of the Year Finalists:

frugalista – person who leads a frugal lifestyle, but stays fashionable and healthy by swapping clothes, buying second-hand, growing own produce, etc.

moofer – a mobile out of office worker – ie. someone who works away from a fixed workplace, via Blackberry/laptop/wi-fi etc. (also verbal noun, moofing)

topless meeting – a meeting in which the participants are barred from using their laptops, Blackberries, cellphones, etc.

toxic debt – mainly sub-prime debts that are now proving so disastrous to banks. They were parceled up and sent around the global financial system like toxic waste, hence the allusion.

Word of the Year Shortlist:

CarrotMob, carrot mob – a flashmob type of gathering, in which people are invited via the Net to all support and reward a local small ethical business such as a shop or café by all patronizing it at the same time. Also as noun, carrotmobbing.

ecohacking (also known as geoengineering) – the use of science in very large-scale projects to change the environment for the better/stop global warming (e.g. by using mirrors in space to deflect sunlight away from Earth).

hockey mom – like a soccer mom, but one who is supportive of her ice-hockey playing kids, as popularized by Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin

link bait – content on a website that encourages [baits] a user to place links to it from other websites

luchador – a wrestler, an exponent of lucha libre [Mexican Spanish, lit. = ‘free wrestling’, a form of professional wrestling originating in Mexico and popular in Latin America, with spectacular moves, showy costumes, etc.]

rewilding – the process of returning an area to its original wild state/flora/fauna etc.

staycation – vacation taken at or near one’s home, taking day trips, etc.

tweet – a short message sent via the Twitter service, using a cellphone or other mobile device.

wardrobe – has become a verb, as in: Ms. Mendes has a long-standing relationship with the house of Calvin Klein and has been wardrobed by Calvin Klein Collection.

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Nobody is allowed to bid on this snowflake. It's mine, I tell you. All mine. I know. I'm being selfish. But seriously. I want this snowflake. Not because the artist, David Ezra Stein, is one talented guy. Which he is. And not because he's on Fuse #8's HMOCL list.

And not even because David Ezra Stein wrote two books starring a character named Ned. Though I think the snowflake should weigh heavily in my favor since my husband's name is Ned. And while I'm at it, how about the coincidence that David's middle name is Ezra and that's the first name of the man who founded my alma mater.

Okay. I know I'm stretching the reasons why I deserve this snowflake. But, seriously. Look at this snowflake! David used acrylic and black ink...simple materials for a beautiful snowflake that has my name all over it...all because it reminds me of a cute version of the Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz and all that he wanted...Courage. Pure and simple. Courage.

David has written and illustrated four picture books: Cowboy Ned & Andy, Ned's New Friend, Leaves and Monster Hug! His illustrations and books are joyous, sweet and charming. Perfect for hanging out with your little one(s) and reading out loud. And congratulations is in order for David--Leaves was recently awarded the New York Public Library, Best Books of 2007.

David was kind enough to agree to an interview. Little did he know what he was getting into. Without further ado...I'd like to welcome David Ezra Stein.

HWM: What made you realize you wanted to write and illustrate children’s books?
David: In senior year of Parsons, where I was studying illustration, I had a teacher named Pat Cummings who was a real, live children's book author and illustrator. Meeting someone who makes her living that way put the idea into my head that I could do the same. She told me she loved my class work and I had a good shot at getting published. During that semester, I suddenly remembered how I'd loved books a child, and how I'd always written stories for pleasure, and it all fell into place. Well, not right away; it took four years before I sold my first book.

HWM: Which came first, the illustration or the writing? How did this all come about?
David: Well, if you go back to the age of three, I was already drawing. Writing had to wait until I could read, of course. I remember in school we had special time set aside to work on our own books. This was in first or second grade. My friend and I collaborated on a 100-page book about Charlie Brown. It was all pictures, and I don't know if we ever made it to 100, but it was ambitious. I also drew more than my share of spaceships bristling with guns.

I kept on drawing and writing all through school. It came from a very personal need, not from any real outside source. When I finally published my first book, it was like the public tip of a very big personal iceberg of work...if you catch my drift.

HWM: Your website is wonderful. How involved were you in the design of it?
David: Thank you! I created it all on my own. I have been building my own websites for about 5 years now (i.e., as long as I've had one). I hope folks come visit me and my books there. There's a cool book-making project up, and I will soon be selling prints of my artwork there, among other things.

HWM: The picture book market is tough to get into nowadays. What do you think sets your work apart from the other picture books out there?
David: I don't quite know the answer; Maybe you should ask my editors and art directors! All I know is that the picture book form is very close to my heart, and when I look at the bookshelves in the store I just know there's room for me up there. It's like there's a big conversation going on, and I have something to say that I need to add to it!

HWM: How do you come up with the ideas for your books and artwork? Tell me about your books and any new projects you’d like to share.
David: I have ideas every day. I believe everyone can. The "trick" is to listen to and honor those ideas. Write them down. Draw them. Edison said something like, "The best way to have a great idea is to have a lot of ideas."

Some of my books start as words, some as pictures, and sometimes (like with the book Leaves) the words and pictures come all at once. When an idea meets up with an emotional impetus–a need–a story is born. I believe a story has to need to be told. The way I tell stories is in the picture book format. It is one of my native languages. (After all, my parents and grandparents read to me very early on.)

HWM: Tell me about the snowflake you designed. What inspired you to design “The Mane Event”—I saw a picture of it on the Robert’s Snow website and it’s awesome. It reminds me of the Lion in the Wizard of Oz.
David: "The Mane Event" was inspired by the shape of the snowflake I was given. It was kind of the first impulse I had on viewing that shape. The mane seemed to be gathered in bunches, hence the bows. I imagined someone had tied the lion's mane in ribbons (while he was sleeping perhaps), and this was his first reaction on looking in the mirror.

HWM: Why did you get involved in Robert’s Snow? Have you created other snowflakes in the past?
David: This was my first time participating in Robert's Snow, mainly because I'd never heard of it before this year. It was a good chance to be part of a community of artists and help a good cause. It is all the more important to me because I lost someone close to me to cancer a few years ago.

HWM: What has been the biggest surprise of your career?
David: So far, that achieving a dream is only the beginning. There's always more work to do, more learning, more decisions to make. Enjoy the process!

HWM: If you could share any unique tip to aspiring illustrators/writers, what would it be?
David: Work, work, work! Don't wait for someone to invite you, pay you, or beg you. While you're waiting to hear about one manuscript, work on another. Welcome your ideas, be a good host to them. And always keep a sense of joy in what you do.

HWM: What was the best illustration/writing advice someone ever gave you?
David: My drawing teacher always said: Look at what you're drawing, not at the paper.

Hipwritermama's Curiosities:
HWM: Will you be posting more on your blog?
David: Sure, I plan to post news regularly on my blog. Sometimes I even post pages from my sketchbooks.

HWM: What makes you laugh?
David: Not a what, but a who: my wife. That's how I fell in love with her.

HWM: If you were a superhero, what powers would you want and why?
David: The power to know the truth no matter what distractions are around.

Thank you David!
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Here are today's featured snowflakes:

Juli Kangas at Sam Riddleburger's blog
Ginger Nielson at Miss O's School Library
Margot Apple at Jo's Journal


For more information on the master schedule of the featured snowflakes, head on over to 7-Imp. Please think about bidding for a snowflake in the Robert's Snow auction for yourself or a loved one. Treat yourself to some creative goodness and help raise money to fight cancer. Come on, let's make this the year!

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If nothing else, Kirby Larson's Hot Women of Children's Literature (she's up to #3 right now) inspires me to keep current with my own postings.

Remember when I had that recent poll to determine who exactly the next Hot Man of Children's Literature should be? Good times. Scott Magoon won it fair and square in spite of the rallying forces of several kidlit nominations. Just the same, I looked back at that old poll lately and what did I see? In my absence someone (or several someones) had continued to vote. The new winner is now the subject of today's entry.

Today's feller is a resident of Queens but we don't hold that against him. KIDDING! I'M KIDDING, PEOPLE! Phew.

He was born a Brooklynite, and draws the most adorable hugging monsters you ever did see. I suspect they may have weighed the vote in his favor, but it doesn't hurt that he rivals them in adorableness. His website includes everything from How to Make a Snappy Book to ... well did I mention the hugging monsters? I did, didn't I?

Things That Are Not My Fault: Go to his website and you can find all kinds of pics. But on the Internet at large? This was the sole picture I could find. Thank God it's still adorable.

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